Protests in Egypt swell, postponing crackdown

COUNTER COUP:Morsi supporters turned out in the thousands to prevent police dispersing the sit-in camps, which the interim government says are a public danger

AP, CAIRO

Influential Brotherhood member Mohammed el-Beltagy said he turned down an offer by the head of al-Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world’s top religious institution, to negotiate a solution. El-Beltagy said al-Azhar Imam Mohamed Ahmed el-Tayeb was not an impartial mediator because he backed the coup.

However, public figures close to the Brotherhood have been approached to take part in the al-Azhar talks.

Another Brotherhood figure, Saad Emara, dismissed efforts to negotiate a solution, saying the group does not recognize the “initiatives from the post-coup era.”